Smoked Success

28.

Andrew's lips touch mine, I don't know what to do honestly, I feel this little spark but no, this can't be happening. I won't have a sexual relationship with a student of mine, especially if he's older than me. It's dark outside, the only thing lightning the sky are the stars, the radio's songs are playing in the background, I can smell his cologne. I still don't have a reaction, I'm not kissing him back, but he's just planting kisses all around my neck now. He finally stops, making me feel a lot more comfortable. He seemed breathless, yet satisfied.

"This is not to be talked about anywhere out of this car." I snap, opening my door. I lighten another cigarette, I cannot believe I survived all these months without smoking. Drinking I get, you get hungover and all, but smoking, it has nothing to do with your emotions. It does give me the chance to let it out anyway.

"Jessica, you're not pissed right?" He asks, walking behind me.

"You just sexually assaulted your teacher, yeah, no biggie." I sarcastically reply, blowing out smoke.

"Jess, you know that sexually assaulting you wasn't the point of this." His hand touches my wrist, and I try to shove it away.

"Then what was?" I ask him, still attempting to shove his hand away. "And don't call me Jess, ever again."

"Jessica, you might be smart. But sometimes, the smartest people are the ones who need learning the most." He states. "Let's just do this dinner for Peter, and not see each other before the end of august, okay?"

"Whatever." I shrug, and get in. I don't understand half of this shit, but at least I won't have to deal with him as a friend again, after this.

"You didn't kiss all night long, why aren't you spoiling her Andrew?" Jillian asks, laughing.

"Yeah Jessica, why aren't we kissing?" Andrew gives me a dead look, and I'm so uncomfortable at the moment.

"Well, as you see, today was a really long day for me, with all the translations I had to do. To relief myself, I smoke, a lot. Andrew doesn't really like the taste of smoke, so instead we have some good time in bed when we go home." I give a really false explanation, and I can already feel Andrew's anger.

"Isn't smoking that got your brother to have Interstitial Lung Disease?" She narrows her eyes, looking at Peter. Fuck, she's either smart or a doctor.

"Yes, yes it is." Peter states, continuing to eat. He's so silent and polite around her damn.

"I think you should learn from your brother, honey." Andrew asks me, falsely raising his eyebrows. Uh, he can't just tell me what to do.

"I have been smoking since I was eighteen, I'm still alive." I fake a smile to him, and I can see him getting angrier.

"Jessica, I think your boyfriend's right, I mean, this might even go from him to you, or maybe your mother might have it, you may never know." Jillian declares.

"My grandfather's been smoking since he was sixteen, he's still alive. My mother's been smoking for over fifteen years now. It's only Tyler because he has one lung, that doesn't function that great." I clarify.

"Grandpa smokes?" Peter questions, knotting his eyebrows. Poor thing, he doesn't know the whole story behind grandpa.

Our grandmother cheated on her husband with his brother. And Mom didn't find out until her mother died. I guess mom and I do share something, knowing stuff at the end.

"Yes he does." I roll my eyes. "It runs in the family, see?"

Today's the first day for seniors in UCLA, they start early this year instead of finishing the last. We also receive our exchange students from Oxford, seniors of course. As a professor who teaches a major, my role is to have them do lessons that'll be very used in their careers, and today I give them their syllabus and all this stuff I like to guide them with. I'll also ask them for their internship reports. This is the first time I meet Andrew after that catastrophic date, which stresses me out. I really hope he forgot about it or something, because he's still sitting at the front.

I wear a crepe sheath dress with a pearl collar, black heels, my hair loose and lots of lipstick, to cover the smoking effect on my lips. I also put foundation and some mascara. I make myself some coffee, kiss Angelina quickly, cover her well, and get out. Angelina goes to pre-school now, Peter drives her there and takes her back, he's more free than I am.

I get in my car, light a cigarette, and start driving. I don't smoke around Angelina, Peter or Tyler. Unlike Andrew, Tyler starts next week. Seven minutes later, I park my car on campus. I walk to my classroom and wait for my students to get in. I don't know if I should smoke or not, fuck it, who cares. I light up one and start smoking, as guess who gets in, Andrew. Not your time I swear.

"You smoke on campus now? I'm not even surprised." He scoffs.

"Good morning to you too, Andrew." I roll my eyes, blowing out smoke. "You're still going to sit on my desk by the way, because the more you annoy me, the more obnoxious I'll get and your classmates don't deserve it."

"Fine." He sits down. "By the way, my mother wants me to have those private lessons this year too."

"Pick the timings, I don't have anything after school." I state. "Let me know later."

"Fine, and I guess you should turn this off because class starts in a minute." He points out, looking at his wristwatch.

"Thank you." I turn off my cigarette and apply lipstick again. It's so weird, how he still seems to hate me but helps me. I take a breath freshener and sigh. A whole year, again, this feels like a cycle.

"Hello Miss Styles." Luke, another student of mine gets in, and smiles. Luke was an average student, he didn't have ultimately high  grades, but not so low.

"Hi Luke, how was your summer?" I smile. I wanted to pretend I cared, I sort of did, but whatever.

"Good enough. Yours?" He was one simple student. I've been told he's originally from Tennessee. "Financing the farm was new and all, but what's a summer's worth without anything new?" He grins.

"Go sit down." I playfully shake my head and laugh. As a notification pops up, I glance at my phone, Angelina's arrived at her school, great. I already feel older, my birthday is soon but I won't be celebrating.

Students are starting to get in, except exhange ones, those are to be introduced by the University's dean. He's supposed to get them here in like five minutes or so.

Most of my students are familiar, Rebecca's still there and I can see she changed her outfit style, and got a belly button piercing, not to forget some tattoos.

"Good morning class, welcome back to UCLA, I hope you've enjoyed your summer because this year is one of the hardest years of Business Economics." I smile at them, trying to be hopeful. I start distributing the syllabus, and my rubrics. "These are to be kept with you at all times and please be nice and take care of them."

Someome knocks the door, I'm pretty sure it's the dean. I go get it, yes, I was right.

"I'm so sorry to interrupt but these are the exchange students, from Oxford." He says, smiling at everyone. Man, I missed those European looks, no who am I kidding?

"My name's Edmond Harding, you can call me Ed." I shake hands with the first student, that accent is so British I can't.

"Jessica Styles, it's Miss not Mrs." I fake a laugh.

"I'm not surprised that you're still not married." The next student says, and hell no I'm not going to teach them.